Envínate is the work of four winemakers, Roberto Santana, José Martínez, Laura Ramos and Alfonso Torrente, who met studying oenology in Alicante and have spent close to two decades since chasing the old, Atlantic-shaped edges of Spain that most of the country had given up on. They think of themselves as growers first, taking on abandoned parcels and varieties the mainstream forgot. Everything is farmed by hand and made on site, with as little done to it in the cellar as the fruit will allow. Writing in The New Vignerons, Luis Gutiérrez placed them at the forefront of a generation arguing that the future of Spanish wine lies in its vast collection of ancient and forgotten vines.
That reputation was on show last week, when Alfonso and Roberto joined us in the MW Wines tasting room and gave a small group an early look at the 2024s, now arrived with us. Across the volcanic sites of Tenerife and Tacoronte-Acentejo and the steep schist of Ribeira Sacra, the new vintage looks as good as anything they have made.
Made in small quantities across every site, these are the Spanish wines you need to be drinking.
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